Spring time [Cale]

Ryan calmed down slightly upon hearing he wouldn't freeze, minorly relieved to know that his friend wouldn't die because of him. Still, even Ryan could tell something was bothering Cale but then again it might have just been the way they sighed or maybe he was thinking too much into it. A new thing likely for Ryan, but then again he was not known for thinking too much about things. Still, thinking of the name of the person that killed her was hard, all he knew was it was Red...something. ”I don't really remember their name...they were called Red...something. They had this weird red stuff they threw around, it burned and they tried to kill me before I think.” the burns themselves didn't have the time to fully heal, though they did heal enough to stop itching and hurting. They were more in the later stages of things than anything else.

”He kept saying stuff about metahumans and then...he killed my mom.” He finally said with a shudder, sniffling softly as a small amount of moisture gathered at the corner of his right eye. Likely what he said also answered who she was, though likely more than he knew about the thing that happened. ”I did nothing to them but…..I...I don't understand.” It all made no sense to him, why they did that. It made no sense in the end. ”My mom did nothing wrong but he killed her anyway.” He began to mutter almost, before realizing that his powers were beginning to go out of control, reigning them in enough before the table started to freeze over anymore than where his hand was touching it.

So someone killed his mother. Someone named Red? Red something. Dumbass couldn't even remember the name of the man who killed his mother. Cale would never forget the name that he obsessed over very day. He scoffed before leaning back and watching Ryan freeze his table. Cale didn't yell...despite wanting to maybe a little. He had to fight his primal urges to be a total douche bag and actually feel sympathy for Ryan, as this was something he knew first hand. Recently too...

 "Ry-Ry-I...I'm sorry." He said, in the end that was all he could say before closing his eyes and sighing. The death of a mother was never an easy thing. Cale didn't know what to say. What can you say? In the end he just remained silent. Nostro took note of the distressed situation and stood up, walking over and placing a hand on Ryan's shoulder, a comfort measure...or so the books on being a doctor said. Even if ice were to appear, Nostro just kept as calm as possible as he smiled at Ryan. Cale watched, noting how Nostro seemed to take a liking to Ryan. Nostro liked everybody, but he only gravitated to good people. It made Cale wonder why Nosto loved him so much. "It's not okay...but it will be." He said as he seemed to try and comfort Ryan. Cale was left speechless a moment.

  "Cale- Gadreel... He has lost his mother. His little brother and his baby brother too." Nostro said, Cale glared at him but he smiled and looked to Ryan. "Look. Ryan There's nothing that makes it better. It's been a week...and i;ve barely slept. But I'm telling you right now...I'm not letting my mom..or my baby brothers die in vain. I won't let their lives be the end of the story. We'll find whomever did this....and we'll make them answer for it." Cale said, matter of fact and nodding, adament and steadfast of this. He was convinced that if it killed him..he would avenge his mom, and Noah...and...the names alone made his eyes water. He'd cried so much recently, he wouldn't be surprised if he were constantly dehydrated.

 "I can promise that..." he said taking another bite of his pizza absent mindedly.

Just thinking about it, well the pain that came was unbearable like teeth biting into his guts, before rending them apart. The apology was something he registered, though he partially wanted to ask why he was apologizing. It might have been his own ignorant nature, but he actually managed to hold that back, instead chewing on his lower lip. He did jerk when Nostro placed a hand on him, but he didn't pull away from it, the contact felt nice in a way. He didn't feel so isolated and that meant he didn't feel so...miserable, even if that feeling receded a tiny bit. What they had said was strange, making him look to Nicco with a questioning look as if trying to figure the male out. They didn't act like a lot of people he knew, more like a little kid really but then again he had no room to talk.

What he learned about Cale however, for a moment turned the misery into….shock. Someone had done this to Cale too? Was it the same Red guy that killed his mom? That was a possibility, and something that he did not want to think, that someone would go out of their way to hurt the people he cared about. Still, he could not let the deaths of his parents be for nothing, he would have to make the person pay. Yet the answer did not come easily to his mind, there was only confusion as he tried to think over and over what that would be. ”He….did?” In the end they were both bound in loss. A slight sheen of eyes watering could be seen, but then again Ryan wasn't too focused upon that, as he shuddered again.

”Yeah….make them answer for it.” Ryan nodded, motioning with a hand to produce a rough construct of red and with a motion crushing it into fine powder. Killing….was that what he wanted to do to the person, would it even be wrong? Ryan wondered that to himself, but then again he wondered if he even could. ”Is there a shower around here? I think I might need one right now.”

"Yeah...it's right back there, through the door." Cale said, the bathroom was actually visible from where he was sitting, but not to Ryan. Just past the bathroom was the door that led to Cale's bedroom. Seraphim dorms were single rooms with bathrooms conjoining them. Cale had been a loyal member and was one of the senior most members at the moment, so he was given his own little set up, as a reward for great work being the defender of the Lighthouse. This set up was two dorms and the bathroom all to himself. He used the one as a living space and kitchen while the other was a spacious bedroom.

"Do you have any other clothes or... what am I asking. Uh...we'll. uh... We'll ask Austyn for some. He's a little taller than you but about the same build. So uh; Yeah, take your time in there and we'll go get you a change." Cale said. Nostro blinked and looked to Cale whom nodded. Nostro smiled and stepped away, pulling Ryan a little, nothing major, just enough to garner his attention. Nostro would lead him to the bathroom and then step out a moment before returning with a nice soft towel for him. Cale on the other hand went to bother Austyn for clothes, literally having to go to the music store. Then likely to his house and everything else between here and there.

Ryan was allowed to get his shower in relative peace, except for MT that decided that he would mew and meow before jumping on the toilet and making paw-print art on the mirror, removing fog one paw-print at a time. MT's message was less than nice, but still it was just a stupid cat, right? A stupid cat that knew how to use it's paws to spell the word "Slut" in the fog on the mirror. What harm could that do?

So it seemed they did have a bathroom, something that made him feel at ease as Nostro would lead him towards said bathroom with a slight tug at his sleeve. ”Thanks Cale.” Ryan managed upon hearing that he would bring him some clothes, as he stepped into the bathroom which seemed pretty nice. Ryan looked into the mirror, noting a slight  darkening below his eyes as Nostro would hand him a towel. ”Thanks.” he said with a small smile before closing the door behind him and stripping out of his clothes. It didn't take too long before his boxers plopped to the floor, water hissing out of the faucet at a warm temperature as he stepped into it.

As always it started off stinging, a low pained hiss slipping through his lips before his body grew used to it. Slowly color returned to his body, turning from a frost white to a more fleshy pink color, water still slightly cold would mingle with the warm water as it streamed down to the floor of the shower, Ryan looking around for some kind of shampoo and finding something that looked it it. Putting that through his hair until it lathered, he would rinse it out and realize how smooth his hair felt now, which was pretty awesome. Ryan liked showers, and feeling clean, especially when they made him feel warm.

That was until he heard a cat, which made him wonder if Cale had a cat. He wanted a cat once, but his parents didn't let him have one for some reason, though that did make him wonder why. Looking out of the shower, he noticed the cat and then the word written on the mirror. ”Slut? What does that mean?” He muttered before shrugging, toweling himself off and sort of half assed tying it around his waist. Cale did say he was getting some clothes anyway from this Austyn guy, so no harm in wearing nothing but a towel till they got back. Making sure he wrapped it up as best as possible, he decided to lounge on the couch until Cale returned.

Nostro sat there as he looked to Ryan as he questioned what that word was. Nostro took a moment to look for the words. He recalled it but didn't see how it was applicable to Ryan, though he did not know Ryan very well. There was 50% possibility that Ryan was in fact a slut but he had no evidence to either argument, save for the fact Ryan's scan didn't show any STI's. "An individual with considerably loose sexual morality, generally having multiple causal sexual partners. Generally it's used as an insult, or a slur...or to incite arousal in others." He said matter of fact as he lowered his eyes back down to his toes. He started to poke them and then wiggle them a little before looking to Ryan.

 "I haven't had feeling before. skin feels so...different from person to person. It makes me want to laugh sometimes...it hurts other times. But It means more to me to be able to feel, because I've never felt before." He said, it was almost like a child with no rhyme or reason for his talking, though what he said was oddly profound to the situation. "I never knew how to feel. I wasn't able to. But now I can. If I were to not feel tomorrow...if my touch didn't process correctly...I would know what it was to feel like a person... That was what means most. Not what I have lost...but what I once had." He said with a little smile before gently brushing the arch of his foot with a smile showing on his face. He had never actually been tickled before, but it was nice. He had to wonder why it felt the way it did, but he wasn't left with the thought for too long.

 "Your mother....she was proud of you?" He said, despite the fact he was asking a question the tone was like that of a statement, so Ryan likely would accept it as a statement rather than answer it as a question.

Nostro seemed to have an idea about about what a slut meant, and once explained it made a lot more sense to Ryan, though he only had a rough idea of what that meant. It was enough of a rough idea that made him blush slightly, pressing his knees to his chest as he sort of curled up on the couch while keeping his eyes upon Nostro who seemed really interested in hos toes. Ryan wondered to himself why they were so interested in those toes, but then again it might have been a personal thing. They even began to say something about feeling something, Ryan looking to them with a slightly curious expression. What were they going on about? Rather than questioning, he listened with silent curiosity and playing around with his still damp hair. It had grown cold quickly, likely from his being cold or something along those lines.

He didn't quite understand what they were talking about, but something about it also made sense. Were they not a person, or were they talking weird metaphorical stuff? Still, something about what they were saying made sense in a small way, enough so that he found himself looking at the male in a different fashion. Then they had said something about his mother, that she was proud of him, or maybe they were asking him a question. Ryan blinked, wondering if that was even the case. ”I like to think she was...” Ryan muttered with a sigh, raising both palms upwards as what appeared to be a snow white dove appeared within the hand, fluttering its wings before it began to fly around the room and then rest upon Nostro's shoulder. ”I hope she was.”

"Good." Nostro said to his mother being proud of him. He made a concerted effort to not make Ryan uncomfortable, not moreso than he actually could. He awaited for Cale's return, which thankfully wasn't much longer. It would be about ten minutes before he returned, of course he had to argue with Austyn, then try to intimidate Austyn, fail at it, and then compromise and reason out the whole situation. For the time being Nostro awaited his creator's return while he looked up to Ryan, recognizing something. Nostro quickly leaned back a little, unfolding his legs and stood up, pushing off the couch to walk up to Ryan as he sat there.

 "Ryan, could you please remove yourself from the couch?" He asked before holding out his hand, as if offering Ryan a hand up. "Cale is very protective of his-My couch! Gah!" Cale said, Nostro jumping a little and stepping back as Cale looked to Ryan before looking away, trying to not freak out for th fact that Ryan decided to lounge on his LEATHER couch with his wet body. Even if he weren't wet, he couldn't have waited until he had clothes!? Cale just took solace in the towel, though it still made him uncomfortable. He held out the clothes to Nostro, as he had no sense of embarrassment. Cale turned and went back into the kitchen, mumbling and cursing about the naked boy on his couch. Nostro looked to Ryan and shrugged.

 "You...may need these." He offered.

Time seemed to pass quickly as he sort of thought to himself, letting the snow bird flutter around while making the occasional pigeon noises. Honestly, it was nice to have it around for some reason, though Ryan could not understand why that was the case as his eyes followed the thing around until for some reason Nostro sat beside him and mentioned the couch. Apparently he was supposed to get off of it, and their tone sounded kind enough. However before he could actually get off, Cale appeared with a slightly loud exclamation about his couch which caused Ryan to jerk and literally fall off of the couch onto his belly. Handing the clothing to Nostro they would walk into the kitchen and leave him to do whatever, probably change into the clothes which seemed to fit him well enough once he got into them.

It felt nice to have some clothes on anyway, though he wondered where exactly Cale had managed to get these. It might have been better not to ask, so he decided not to do that and sort of just draw any moisture from himself or the couch around him, letting it form a small construct that would likely scuttle away to melt elsewhere, likely somewhere that would be less annoying for Cale. With that done, he found himself curious more about what Cale was doing in the kitchen, so he decided rather than doing the sensible thing and telling him he was done, he would sort of creep up towards the kitchen area. ”Ummmm….hi...sorry about the couch.” He said hopefully loud enough for Cale to hear.

Cale and Nostro made their way to the kitchen but Cale and him began talking about one thing and the other. Primarily Nostro quizzing Cale about why he was being the way he was, or why he couldn't stay with Ryan. He apparently liked Ryan quite a bit, enjoying the fact that another human being would humor him with conversation. Cale just continued to respond as best he could before Ryan crept up and spoke, causing Cale to turn and a barrier to appear behind him, separating Ryan from him and Nostro. With a deep exhale and wiping a hand across his forehead, Cale dismissed the barrier.

"Dude, seriously." He moved forward his hand coming up lightning fast and grabbing Ryan by the collar, if he could he'd turn him and push him against the wall, glaring at him. "I like you kid, but don't...ever...do that again. Got it?" He asked, seething but calming himself pretty quickly, arching his eyebrow. Nostro looked at him and cocked his head to the side. Cale wanted to be very sure Ryan got the picture and then Nostro stepped forward and put his hands between Cale and Ryan, turning them out so that a hand was flat against each person's chest and began to push them apart.

 "Cale, I thought you liked Ryan...do you really want to hurt Ryan? Would you hurt Ryan?" Nostro asked, genuinely as he looked to Cale, slightly concerned but inquisitive. The only times he'd ever seen anyone pin anyone against the wall was limited in reasons. Cale stepped back a little and looked to Nostro, he let out a little growl and then shook his head, then letting out an exhale through his nose, one that conveyed disappointment, disappointment in himself primarily as his eyes wandered to a downcast look before Nostro to smiled. "Well when someone pins someone up against the wall they generally intend to hurt them or kiss them. If you're not-NOPE!" Cale said releasing Ryan immediately and backing up a step, pivoting and walking towards his living room and taking a seat on his couch, looking at the television. Nostro just crooked an eyebrow before he looked to Ryan and let out a confused hum. he simply shrugged and then walked back to the kitchen.

 "Will anyone eat the remainder of this pizza?" He added in, only adding to the chaos.

Ryan had not quite expected what happened, as the barrier appeared and then disappeared within the span of a few seconds. The next part, well he was not expecting it at all as he found himself being pinned against the wall by the stronger male. He didn't quite understand what he did wrong, but something had made Cale really mad. There was fear, a large amount of it as if he was expecting him hurt him for some reason or another. He tried to utter something, but all that came out was a small scared sound, as his eyes widened slightly much like a deer in headlights. Luckily Nostro managed to stop it before Ryan probably began to cry or shut down even more than he did now. Once he was released, Ryan sort of slid down against the wall, holding a hand over his chest as the temperature around him slowly lowered.

He wondered if Cale would really hurt him, and the thought just didn't sit well with him. It took him a few minutes to realize that thing about Cale and kissing, which then reminded him how Cale sort of said nope outloud before walking away. That made Ryan wonder, if Cale was not always upfront about things like that, maybe he wasn't being too upfront about more things. If he was really not a mean guy, then maybe….that was what caused him to look to Nostro. Maybe Nicco would now something about Cale. So drawing to his feet, Ryan walked over to Nicco, leaning over to where he could whisper and they would still hear him. ”So….um...do you think he actually does want to..ya know...kiss me?” Ryan asked curiously, looking to the robot thing for some kind of answers.

"I don't know...Probably. I know he likes you." Nostro said very matter of fact with a smile and nodding He pointed to the pizza as if offering it, but Ryan likely didn't notice. "Does that bother you?" Nostro asked, as if continuing off of the previous statement, trying to discover the strange body language and why he was being the way he was. Of course if it bothered Ryan then Nostro would need to calculate the best course of act to terminate such things.

”He..does? R..r..really?” Ryan blinked a couple of times, evaluating what he heard and feeling himself blush slightly. It was not quite expected, but then again things were never like he expected, so maybe this wasn't as bad as the prior Cale scaring him. Nicco seemed like they knew Cale, so maybe they knew enough about him to know about this situation. All the thinking hurt Ryan's head, man did it hurt but then again it was making him jump to so many conclusions as well. ”It doesn't bother me.” He responded with a smile, a small slightly goofy grin as the expression went. Why was he smiling? Ryan wasn't even sure about that, so he went with it and tried to think of what to do. His brain couldn't fail him now, or it could totally fail him now, like it seemed to be doing.

”Um..thanks Nicco.” Ryan said patting the robot on the shoulder before walking over towards the couch where Cale was likely lounging. This time he made sure not too sneak up on him, to avoid the whole getting pinned against the wall...unless that was...would he want him to do that? Either way once he was sure that he had not snuck up on Cale, he reluctantly sat on the couch at the most maybe four inches from the taller male. ”So whatcha watching? Is it anything good?” He spoke up well enough, awkwardly twiddling his thumbs, and wondering if he would get some kind of answer.

"I'm watching the News. Something you've probably never watched before." Cale said as he looked to the television and pointed to the news station. He watched as there was a report about a man who apparently was on trial for the murder of a sixteen year old. Of course it transitioned right into the whole "Ice storm in L.A" thing where it showed The Seraph and Gadreel and Abbadon all talking about the things that happened. Cale of course brushed the media off by walking past them, creating a barrier between himself and them. He ignored their questions and simply continued on his way. Then Seraph was talking about how Ryan saved the city, though he seemed to hesitate a little, thinking about his responses very carefully, while not overly suspicious slight stagger was there. Gadreel noticed it only because he knew Austyn so well. It would take a very keen eye to notice.

"Congrats on saving the city by the way." Cale said with a little sigh and glaring at Nostro as he stood there in the threshold, looking confused. Cale was highly irritated by how ignorant Nostro was to social interaction...though that was primarily his fault. He never let Nostro free, mostly out of fear. He tried to do so much good, but he always ended up causing so much trouble... Cale had moment to think about this as the news continued and the little water boy continued to twiddle his thumbs...like a dumbass.

The news, that was the thing where people talked about stuff that was going on around the world. Ryan remembered watching it once when he was young, probably trying to get his dads attention and crawling onto the couch with him to see people talking on the television. On the screen was something about the storm, the one that he had both started and helped ended. For some reason people said that he had saved the city, but Ryan did not remember ever doing anything like that. Maybe someone had lied on his behalf, that made sense to Ryan and so he went along with it. Cale congratulated him on saving the city, and Ryan sort of nodded appreciatively. ”Thanks.” He said with a smile, wondering if Cale was in on the cover too or if it was something else entirely.

Still, his mind thought over and over about something, wondering if maybe he was looking too deeply into this. ”So I gotta ask you something...” Before he could quite ask the question, something bumped into his side and forced him to fall over fully, unintentionally using Cale as a sort of landing pad. Was it that bird construct he made not too long ago? Yes, yes it was and it was fluttering away before anything could be done about it.

"Woah, you okay there? You been drinkin' or somethin'?" Cale asked, though he was mostly joking it would seem. He noticed the bird, and he knew full well that Nostro tried to make his alcoholic pizza. Once again the damn guy wanted to help and be useful, but only ended up making things worse for people. Cale looked at Ryan and blinked before cocking his eyebrow. "W-Uhm...you, okay?" Cale asked absently before his mind snapped back to attention. He looked back to the television and handed the remote to Ryan, allowing him take it if he wanted.

 "Here, change it to what ya want." He said as he looked to Nostro, who seemed genuinely confused and befuddled about what was going on. Cale shifted, slightly uncomfortable, but didn't move too much, instead looking and preparing to be pelted in the face by an ice bird at any given moment. "Godamn birds."